Americans want a new health insurance system...

According to a recent survey over 80 percent of Americans think that our current health system needs a big change or an entire overhaul. This includes the insurance portion of our health system. Costs for health insurance have DOUBLED since 1996 in America. I myself hadn't noticed since I am young and haven't been paying insurance for that long but that's almost as bad as gas prices when you think about it. It appears people want better communication between providers (that would help a lot) and also a better flow of information. I don't know how many times I have tried calling for help on something and I get forwarded 5-6 times and still no one seems to have any clue what I'm talking about.

I think the biggest problem lies in the amount of Americans that don't have insurance. I know in the last year or so we have eclipsed 300 million people, and about 1/6, or 50 million, are not properly insured. You know it's bad when presidential candidates are using health insurance reform as a major topic in their campaigns to get votes. There are a lot of help programs out there for people who can't afford or don't have access to insurance, but in my opinion the information for those programs isn't available and is usually only known about by people who don't need it. I tend to agree that we need to change the way our health insurance system works, basically what I would like to see is more information. I mean, if a company provides charity care, how come the service providers or charity company itself not advertise the service as being available?

Well, I'm sure some change is coming, starting in November, let's just see if the change is for the good and corrects the current problems.

Health insurance is almost definitely going to change in the near future.

Politicians and the voters all seem to be interested in making this better. However, I really doubt that the voters realize how much health insurance costs the insurers and therefore, how much their taxes will be raised.

The countries that have socialized medicine tax their citizens very heavily when compared to the taxes US citizens pay. This will, of course, be the stumbling block for implementation of a national health care system.

There are a lot of ways to do socialized medicine incorrectly, so I fear the change, although I expect that there will be one soon. I would like to see something done, even though it will greatly impact my livelihood and my son's livelihood. We are both insurance agents and sell health insurance almost exclusively.

Even if nothing is done on a national level, there will, and have been changes made in certain states. Health insurance agents should start "sewing their parachutes." The ride may be over and there may not be a safe landing for those who haven't planned ahead.

It is quite justified to say that our health care system needs 'reforms'..& I am too sure that one good way of going at it would be to develop good health awareness programs.

But to imagine the federal govt. fighting such unethical con-artists in the form of teams comprising of eminent physicians & reputed health care units would be unwise keeping in mind the volume of such malpractices.

Since a majority of the health care policies are being offered within groups hence I believe consumers with group-health policies should atleast have a direct access to health care help desks with their respective providers.

Politicians and the voters all seem to be interested in making this better.

I have always seen politicians to have other things in mind whenever they are out to help out under such circumstances..

I'd rather say issues like 'healthcare system reforms' or 'mandatory health insurance' have been hot favorites amongst the politicians to add gloss to their gambit!!!
Tax problems are never a part of the presidential election campaign that effectively & they know it too well to curb it instantly! Evan

I am asked quite often to speak on the ideas of both nationalized and socialized healthcare, and my typical audience is comprised of both the "clued" and "clueless" when it comes to these topics.

Most people have no idea whatsoever of (a) the difference between nationalized and socialized medicine, and (b) the costs that are intrinsically entwined within both systems, (c) the huge "what ifs" that are a natural by-product of other than private systems (look at medicare and social security for example), and (d) the cost v. benefit ideas associated with either system

I normally start out my discussions with the adage "be careful what you wish for...you just might get it." I tell people to STOP listening to the politicians who are stumping for votes in an election cycle and to NEVER listen to Michael Moore (the movie "Sicko"). It's amazing. I saw that movie, and I swear- 3/4 of the people exiting the theatre after the show acually believed everything they saw in the movie!! The movie is simply furthering his own agenda, and has more spin to it than you could believe. Go and rent the flick- if you are one of the rare few that truly understands these concepts, you'll be uttlerly astounded at the spin in the movie. Talk about ridiculous. Now, I will give him props for raising awareness of our "sick" healtcare system, but that's about it.

Our healthcare system is not sick, it's not broken, it's simply out of control. Reforms in and of themselves are not going to work, especially if they come from a legislative standpoint. Changing the laws to mandate healthcare coverage or forcing more of the burden onto employers is NOT the answer...it's waaaaay deeper than that.

If anyone is interested in starting a thread on nationalized or socialized mediciine, maybe we can get someone (year...right) to actually listen to us. Something tells me that we don't have that much pull here at ampm. But the more people that talk about it, the more awareness will be raised overall.

I'd also feel a number of factors taken into account, we could definitely look forward to a better health care system. But we would only term it as a "better system" when we see that the cost of insurance has become more economical & the volume of malpractices have come down.

He did his best to counter some of the arguments given against nationalized health care. It was eye opening. He certainly has a bias, but there was a lot of good information. I personally have spent too much time talking to other insurance agents who biased as well.

Whether or not we agree that national health care is a good idea, we will have a different system eventually. There are a lot of guaranteed issue states. My state, Connecticut, now has a plan called the Charter Oak Plan that is a guaranteed issue plan.

Lack of good health care kills people. Lack of insurance destroys families because of the debt incurred. I hope something is done even though I will have to look for something else to do to put money in my pocket. However, I do worry that the new system will be worse than the current one. Socialized health care is a good idea if done correctly, but like most complex things, there are more ways to do it wrong than to do it right.

It is quite evident that a considerable part of the American population still remains uninsured in terms of health-care problems. There has also been an increasing discontent amongst the classes that once enjoyed health coverage under different phases. The main factors for such outcomes could be summed as-

Now, the govt. of the different states would need to take up these issues seriously & conduct thorough researches to get to the solutions. We should follow the footsteps of the likes of Connecticut who have come up with this new concept of the Charter Oak Plan. I'm sure that the real thoughtful minds could give birth to stronger solutions when they get united instead of making big campaigning issues in order to fetch political benefits (which are in no ways helping people). ArindamSenIndies

I think it is more an issue of the mentality we have developed as Americans tha is at the root of the problem. We all want everything covered and to pay next to nothing for the coverage... but the reality is we all must pay for it one way or annother.

The answer might be nationally mandated hospitalization coverage (like high deductible HSA plans) but i feel that this would never fly with the general public.

Just today I made a sale where I compared the following:

A HSA with a $3000 annual deductible and 100% coverage therafter:
Premium for family of three $197

A major medical with $35 office copays, $3500 hospital deductible and 70/30 coverage therafter with a max out of pocket of $11,000
Same family of three premium $294

I could not convince them that they were paying an extra $97 monthly just to have Dr visits paid for after the copay and if one of them went to the doctor each month that they still would not come out ahead. Furthermore, if they were hospitalized that they would be in much worse shape with this plan.

I just saw the movie "Sicko." It gave me a different perspective on the health care debate.

I know that Michael Moore has an agenda. He doesn't try to hide his agenda so hopefully we can respect him regardless of whether or not we agree with him.

He was able to show that a nationalized healthcare system or socialized medicine isn't ruining the economies of the nations that offer these benefits to their citizens.

I agree that capitalism is a better system when compared to socialism. We should take care of ourselves and work hard to achieve if we want bigger homes more comfortable retirements or better vacations. However, there are things that a government can do more efficiently than the private sector. There are issues regarding economies of scale and reliability. We shouldn't privatize our military, post office, police force or the governmental agencies that keep businesses honest such as the weight and measures agencies and the FDA. I am starting to think that the government can deliver health care more efficiently than our present system.

We have too many people whose lives are impacted by high medical bills. These people often lose their homes when medical care is given to them that they cannot afford. They sometimes lose their lives when care is withheld because they do not have the means to pay for it.

I do believe that we are, or should be, or brother and sisters' keepers. However, if we cannot offer these people medical care for altruistic reasons, we should think about the impact our inaction has on our economy.

When a person cannot get the medical care that he or that she needs to get back to work we lose a tax payer and gain a tax eater. If that person is a parent of a minor or minors, we may lose that child or children as well. The child or children may not get the rearing that the need to be productive tax paying citizens if a parent is sick. Even if the sick person is a sibling, the parent's attention and monies will go to the sick child leaving the other children with less. A well thought out health care system can make this a better country with more productive tax paying citizens.

One other issue in regards to capitalism and innovation is that people who are afraid to leave their employers because they will lose their health benefits will not start their own companies and invent and innovate and grow our economy. "Socialized" medicine could be very good for capitalism.

"The American health care system is in crisis. The costs of health care are skyrocketing. And too often, quality of care is inconsistent. Forty-six million Americans lack health insurance, and millions more have coverage that is inadequate and unaffordable. The current system is a strain on patients, doctors, nurses, hospitals, business owners, and the broader economy. The economic crisis on Wall Street and Main Street makes reform even more urgent, and demands that health care reform be at the top of the agenda."